moonspinner55
Robert De Niro as a monsignor with the Los Angeles archdiocese and Robert Duvall as his somewhat-estranged Irish-Catholic brother, a seen-it-all police detective working on a murder case in 1940s Los Angeles. Following a local priest's death as a customer at a brothel, a prostitute's corpse (cut in two) is found dumped in a vacant lot; the detective and his partner follow a trail of dirty dealings that lead back to the church--with his brother's affairs under suspicion. Dour adaptation of John Gregory Dunne's novel, by Dunne and wife Joan Didion, given a tactless treatment by director Ulu Grosbard, who allows the camera to exploit the majority of the female characters (both living and dead)--and for what purpose, titillation? An R-rating? Grosbard also fails to shape the drama at hand, so that the third-act confrontations have little effect. De Niro (handsomely carrying a bit of his "Raging Bull" weight) doesn't seem to be invested in this role; he's playing a holy hypocrite, but there are no other layers to the man. Also, his scenes dealing with the church and his fellow priests or performing services are deadly dull. Duvall at least has the benefit of salty dialogue exchanges (and colorful interaction with scene stealer Kenneth McMillan, who has wily eyebrows); but his acting, too, is flattened out by the handling, while his smile looks forced and desperate. Perhaps a sharper final edit might have solved Grosbard's problems with pacing and narrative, but what's on the screen is curiously underwhelming. The fine production values and technical aspects are a plus, Georges Delerue's score is classy, and several of the supporting performers (particularly Rose Gregorio as a madam and Charles Durning as a construction czar and lay Catholic) give the film a boost. ** from ****
jackasstrange
Let me start saying that i really tried to like this film. DeNiro is one of my favorite actors, and is an excellent actor, so is Duvall, but...that's impossible to like this film. It's too bad for anyone to like it. I have a highlight for the ripped-off marriage scene from the Godfather. It's perhaps the nicest thing that i've to say about this film, if that is saying too much. The plot is fairly nonsense. It goes around, comes back, and keep doing circles, but never go ahead until the last ten minutes, when the film suddenly ends. It's also one of these films which don't has any conflicts, and a thriller without any conflicts isn't a thriller. In fact, it looked more as a drama film with a crime investigation theme. Better, a nouvelle Vaguè film with a crime investigation. However, a crucial difference between this film and the conventional nouvelle vague, apart from the superior story- telling, it is while the latter is joking about the films, this one is the joke itself. The character development is also an abomination, but i'm sure that it isn't even worth mentioning. The characters just pop out and start doing things without any solid reason. So don't waste your time and skip this film. You aren't losing nothing. 3.7/10
PimpinAinttEasy
This one is probably less well known than THE LAST TYCOON despite the star cast - De Niro, Duvall and Durning. The confrontation scene between Durning and Duvall was great - it was pretty violent and ugly, the two of them sort of exploded on screen. I wish the film had more explosive scenes like that. Despite the understated tone of the movie, I was never bored. And i guess guess that is mainly because of the mesmerizing performances by De Niro and Duvall. De Niro must have done this right after THE RAGING BULL. Here he plays a solemn but ambitious priest in direct contrast to his aggressive detective brother played by Duvall.The film was based on John Gregory Dunne's novel and was adapted by none other than Joan Didion (PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK) and Dunne who was her husband.
wes-connors
After the end of World War II, Americans turn their attention to other stories. Capturing the country's attention is the 1948 murder of a young woman known as "The Virgin Tramp". Her body is found in Los Angeles, neatly cut in half. There is some disagreement about whether the body requires one or two stretchers on its way to the morgue. My vote is one, but forensics folks like to keep the body as it was discovered. Arriving at the murder scene is police detective Robert Duvall (as Thomas "Tom" Spellacy). His brother is Catholic priest Robert De Niro (as Desmond "Des" Spellacy). There will be a connection...You would expect a crime story involving a policeman and priest played by Mr. Duvall and Mr. De Niro to be better than this. There is also a great supporting cast, led by Duvall partner Kenneth McMillan (as Frank Crotty) and De Niro associate Charles Durning (as Jack Amsterdam). And, it's obviously well-produced. The story should have stuck with Duvall and the murder mystery. De Niro's character might have been more minor - the film is, simply, too sluggish. Also, there was no need for the bracketing opening and closing scenes set in the present. Surely, the brothers had more to reminisce about than this incident.***** True Confessions (9/24/81) Ulu Grosbard ~ Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan
AD
